Amsterdam, May 27 — Last week, we gathered at AMS Institute for the first of three Living Lab Trainings. This session marked the start of our joint effort to explore how we can use urban living labs to co-create circular and inclusive solutions in real-world settings, for which ShaRepair will look at the regions Amsterdam and Wageningen-Arnhem-Nijmegen.
What Are Living Labs?
We began the day by exploring the concept of Urban Living Labs and how they function as tools for local experimentation and learning. Living Labs are geographically defined spaces where diverse stakeholders, from policymakers to citizens, come together to test and develop solutions to complex challenges.
Built on AMS Institute’s Urban Living Lab model, we learn that this approach encourages transdisciplinary collaboration and learning by doing, bridging scientific understanding with policy and social dynamics, while providing room for citizen-driven innovation. We come to realize that living labs offer a flexible framework for decision-making
Together, we explored some key questions, such as: What problem can a Living Lab address? But also, What risks or dependencies make a lab vulnerable? And how do we balance informal experimentation with long-term professionalization?
Training Exercises
In the afternoon, we put theory into practice through two collaborative exercises:
Exercise 1: Plotting the Provisional Plan
Participants mapped out their early ideas for a Living Lab using AMS’s Living Lab Way of Working framework. This helped identify gaps in stakeholder involvement, align pilot activities with a shared vision, and initiate early thinking around governance. The session included a storytelling round to empathize with future users and partners.
Exercise 2: Understanding the Levels of the Lab
This reflection exercise supported systems thinking by distinguishing between different layers of a Living Lab - from actors to activities - and how these interact. It prompted dialogue about motivations, roles, and perspectives across sectors.
Looking Ahead
Thank you to everyone who participated, and especially to AMS Institute and Living Lab Coordinator Michelle Molema for guiding this inspiring and collaborative day. We laid a strong foundation for the Living Lab approach in the ShaRepair project, and we look forward to continuing this journey together in the upcoming trainings.
The Living Labs in the ShaRepair project:
Through three living labs, coordinated by AMS Institute, we aim to design and test interventions in real-life environments:
- Urban Repair Services in Amsterdam
In partnership with the municipality, this lab focuses on mapping and strengthening local repair services to support the city’s Circular Economy Implementation Agenda 2023–2026. - Circular IT in the Workplace
Together with the Circular IT Group, this lab addresses how to extend the life of workplace electronics by overcoming social and cultural barriers to using refurbished devices. - Sharing Practices Across Communities
Hosted by Milieu Centraal and the City of Wageningen, this lab explores how to encourage sharing of goods through behavioral interventions across diverse neighborhoods.
Read more about it on our Living Lab page!